Top Gear: BMW 535 diesel vs. 535 petrol

We don’t know how old or new this Top Gear video is but we frankly don’t care.

We’re pretty excited about the 2009 X5 xDrive35d and the 335d diesel models arriving in the U.S. later this fall. Both are powered by a 3.0 liter inline six-cylinder engine that produces 265-hp and 425lb-ft of torque, and both are most likely to be followed by the 535d.

Check out this review by Clarkson to see if the 535d is ‘Ultimate’ enough for the enthusiast driver.

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That was a very fun video. However, it was unfair to the diesel car. They were comparing it to a petrol car with a 4.5-liter V8, when they should have compared the 535d to the 535i, which has a 3-liter inline 6. In such a comparison I think the diesel car would have beat the petrol car, and vindicated BMW's claim of superior performance for the diesel-powered car.

It's great that BMW is sticking to the in-line 6 engine configuration while their main competitors, Mercedes and Audi, have inherently-out-of-balance 90-degree V6 configurations. I lease an Audi A6 by the way so I don't care if the engine shakes itself to death in the long term. The A6 engine is reasonably well balanced at most RPMs but it's an inherently-out-of-balance design and therefore not acceptable to the purist.

Investor the 535d will not be available in the US til the new body arrives in 2010. BMW is only bringing the 335d and X5 3.0D to the US in the fall of this year. I have a 2008 535i and have driven the 535d. The 535d is a heck of a car. I am going to replace my 535i with a X5 diesel when my lease expires.

Does anyone know if the diesels coming to the US will be available in NY? I'd consider waiting for the X5, although I really doubt I can wait that long (my lease is up in June). I also imagine there won't be any attractive leases on these initially. Anyone know when the Q7 diesels are coming?

a LOT sooner than you may think, S4. anyone out there from near Greer SC? I hear there are scores of X6 & X5's sitting outside on one side of the plant-- the X5s that are sitting with those X6's are DIESELS.

you are, without a doubt, the single biggest whiner I've ever seen on this site. And that's saying a lot because there are a lot of them on here. Always the same rhetoric from you, no matter how nonsensical, no matter how illogical. Did a BMW kill your dog when you were little? Did your daddy leave home in a BMW? Something dramatic and scarring had to have happened for you to be this blindly jaded. Its a car, get over it already. You need to watch the South Park episode about hybrid cars. That is you, my friend.

By the way, the diesels are coming in October because, surprise, that's when all the 2009 models come out. I'm sure you'll come up with some big conspiracy, but everyone else who isn't you will likely understand the logic of bringing out a new model at the launch of a new model year.

and by the way, those "BMW gas guzzlers" are at or near the top of the class for fuel economy, certainly on par with the Lexus gasoline counterparts. Guess they're gas guzzlers too right? Nah, I'm sure you'll figure up some reason why they aren't since they're Lexuses. The twin turbo 535i even matches the hybrid GS450h for fuel economy. The diesel 535i happens to get 30% better fuel economy than the hybrid. So you can go ahead and continue to walk around with your nose in the air and your sense of smug "my sh!t don't stink" superiority. The rest of us people who live in reality will just continue doing what we do, like laughing at how pathetic people like that (and you) are.

"Also, diesel pumps are hard to find in big cities where most yuppies and followers live."

This is a non-argument. Not only are diesel pumps fairly easy to find in even big cities but most people only use a handful of stations that are convienient in their daily commutes. Rarely are people searching for pumps when they know their favorite pump is on the way to work. Further, I would bet that most people who buy these vehicles will be suburbanites who use the freeway where diesel economy is best and stations are easiest to find to commute to and from work.

Oh, I realize that diesel pumps are almost 50% but if you'll notice many street corners have pumps on both sides (often enough owned by the same company) of the street. One has diesel, the other doesnt. What do you know, about 50%!! Here in Denver and several places I often travel to work, diesel is found even in the heart of metropolitan areas so long as you have a rough idea of where to find it. Again, I live here so I know where the pumps are and dont spend time searching for pumps like you imply people across the nation would have to do. Like I said, most people only use a handful of pumps. Your argument is therefore nothing but fear mongering and really a non-argument...

As far as commuting, I average about 45mph in my commute. MOST of it is on the highway where traffic is bumper to bumper but not stop and go. Ask a person from LA if his commute is stop and go and it's a different story of course, but he's not driving a diesel anyway. I'm really tired of people telling me that everyone in the world is stopped for their entire commute to work, I ask them "oh yeah, how did you get to work then?" I would be willing to bet that indeed most people get stuck in a few slow spots but the majority of their commute is moving traffic while the majority of their complaining is about traffic standing still. Again, it changes by city but most cities arent LA and our arguments shouldnt be based on their traffic.

Denver/metro is about 3 million people, not exactly chump change even if not as large as Toronto. I attribute our pretty good traffic to good planning by the Colorado DOT. I've lived in other metro areas that werent designed quite as well.

My E320 CDI got 35mpg on the way to work today. Not a Prius but then again the Prius isnt a luxury car... No one else driving in this segment, not E350 owners or GS400H owners or anyone else stand to ever see that number on their fuel economy counter. What's more, when I'm at highway speeds and see a hole in traffic, easy application of the throttle calls to order 370 lb-ft of torque for shiftless, instant response and speed. No fuss, no high revs, no shifting... I just think about it and I'm there. I love my diesel Mercedes. Fuel economy isnt the end all be all of the diesel equation, I wish it werent touted as such. It's only an added benefit.

Since Huu76 is so good at math, figure how my '06 Jetta TDI, which averages me 44 mpg, uses more crude than the standard '06 Jetta @ 26 mpg, when diesel fuel contains only 10% more petroleum and uses less energy to refine than gasoline.

Also, since you are so good at math, figure out how my '06 Jetta TDI uses more petroleum as it runs down the road on 20% biodiesel without losing fuel economy against the standard Jetta that loses 3% fuel economy running E10.

It seems impossible, but I'm sure you can run your voodoo math and get it to work out like you want.

All this talk about how diesel fuel is rising compared to gasoline as if this has been a long-term phenomenon. Yes, diesel is now almost $.80 higher than regular unleaded but that's the highest disparity in many years, but last year it averaged about $.20 for the entire year.

Last spring and summer diesel fuel remained well under the price of gasoline. In the warm weather, people don't use home heating oil, and we don't truck alot more than in the winter, so diesel fuel shouldn't go up relative to gasoline, but gasoline will be in high demand and should be much closer to the price of diesel fuel; maybe even higher.

You can't conclude that diesel fuel is $.80 higher than regular unleaded based on the price highest, one-month price disparity in many years; unless you plan on purchasing your new car to drive for only a couple of months.

One has to look at long-term pricing. Diesel fuel has averaged $.30 higher over the last few years. It has 10% more energy, so at $.30 premium, that is about the same value.

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